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Email etiquette checklist

Thursday April 26th, 2012, 10:16 am

Brilliant Email Etiquette Checklist

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Good email etiquette

How good is your email etiquette?  Will it help you stop email overload and reach inbox zero or drive up the email traffic in your inbox?   Recipients are far more likely to respond to emails which are easy to read and indicate clearly what is expected of them. 

Use this checklist to score the clarity of your emails and establish how well they will be received by the recipient. 

Scoring: 1= Poor   2= OK but could be improved   3= Brilliant, it fully meets the criteria.

1. Subject line.  Does the subject-line reflect the content of the email and if action is required, by when?

2. Tone.  Is it professional and business like without being cold and distant?

3. Grammar and spelling.  Are there any spelling or grammatical errors?

4. Structure and layout.   Have you stated the key facts at the start and separated each new topic/point?

5. Wording.  Is it written in plain clear English and free of jargon and text-speak?

6. Font.  Have you used a consistent business-like font and colour?

7. Call to action.  Does the email explain clearly what the recipient needs to do next?

Interpreting your score
7 = Poor.  Don’t be surprised if there is either no response from the recipient or they fail to notice your email.  Go and read Part 3 of Brilliant Email.

8 to 14 = OK.  However there is room for improvement – go back and read Part 3 of Brilliant Email.
15 to 21 = Good.  You are on your way to writing brilliant emails which should be read (and, as appropriate, dealt with) promptly.

For more help with your email etiquette either read Brilliant Email by Monica Seeley.
Alternatively, come to one of our Brilliant Email Master Classes. For more information see either www.mesmo.co.uk or www.brilliant-email.com or contact Susan Oakes by email: info@mesmo.co.uk and phone: +44 (0)1202 43 43 40

For more time saving tips and hints why not buy a copy of one of our books or let us run a Smart Email Management workshop for you and your colleagues.
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One response to “Email etiquette checklist”

  1. Anita says:

    These are great tips about email contents and etiquette. For me, contents really plan an important role most especially when it comes to email marketing. The content of the email must be very compelling to ensure that recipients will read it.

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